It’s the Holiday season!
Thanksgiving,
Christmas,
New Years, …I LOVE them ALL!!!
It’s time to gather together with family and friends dearest to you. It’s a season of thankfulness, for celebrating the gift of Christ, and for being hopeful for a new year approaching. Whatever your holiday traditions are, be sure to cherish the precious moments spent with the ones you love.
Coreluv is gearing up for yet another wonderful holiday season in Haiti. Our missionaries and staff have already begun preparing Christmas “blessing lists” for all of our precious children! Our kids are the SWEETEST and we want to be a blessing to them this Christmas! We are so very thankful for the wonderful churches and Coreluv partners who help us make the holidays so special for our kids each year!
In honor of Thanksgiving and the upcoming Christmas season, let’s reflect on what it means to be thankful.
But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. Psalm 50:23
Thankfulness is a beautiful word with a strong meaning. One I wish I’d practice more often. It takes little to zero effort to express but at times can feel so labor some. Why is that? Is it because I live immersed in a culture that is seldom satisfied? God, forgive me if I ever grow accustomed to my everyday blessings that I fail to acknowledge your GOODNESS.
I was reading in Luke chapter 17 recently and read about the ten men with leprosy whom Jesus healed. Like Jesus, I found it odd that only one man, when he saw he was healed, returned to give Him thanks. Healed of Leprosy!!! Are you kidding me?!? What were the other nine thinking?! Obviously, they WEREN’T!!! But don’t we do the same thing when we withhold our gratitude from God?
What did Jesus say to the ONE man who returned to give Him thanks? He said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you WHOLE.”
Is living a WHOLE life connected to living a THANKFUL one?
After reading Ann Voscamp’s book One Thousand Gifts, I think I discovered the answer. After studying the original Greek meaning of the word THANKSGIVING, Ann concluded that deep JOY is found ONLY at the table of THANKSGIVING.
Is the heights of my joy dependent on the depths of my thanks? -Ann Voscamp
Perhaps Jesus has a fuller life for us? A life of WHOLENESS discovered through the practice of giving Him thanks. As Thanksgiving and Christmas arrive, may we take time to truly thank God for our many blessings. He has been such a good Father to us and He truly deserves our sincere appreciation!
Would you be willing to pass on our Thanksgiving and Christmas blessings?
–Mandy Reiszner